Patients suffering from paralysis of one or more limbs, as is commonly caused by a stroke, central nervous dysfunction, or other neurological disorder are unable to bear weight on or otherwise use the affected limb. The paralyzed limb is either in a condition of flaccidity wherein there is very little or no tone in the muscles resulting in the limb having a hanging or limp condition of spasticity wherein there is too much tone or tonic spasms in the muscles resulting in the limb assuming an abnormal position. Left untreated both such conditions can and often do cause other difficulties to the patient such as unbalanced posture, limitation of joint movement, deformity of the limb, and atrophy. A patient suffering from a central nervous system dysfunction and confined to a wheelchair in most instances loses the ability to shift and bear body weight on the affected side which results in severe discomfort and asymmetry of the body including the spinal column.
Heretofore no simple and inexpensive device has been available that serves to both relieve the discomfort caused by a central nervous system dysfunction in a limb (arm or leg) of a patient and help normalize the muscle tone of either a spastic or flaccid condition especially for a person confined to a sitting position. Conventional devices are either very complex in design and expensive or both. U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,878 to Spann issued on Sept. 9, 1975, is an example of a prior art device used to support the limb of a bedridden patient. Spann recognizes the value of maintaining the limbs of a bedridden patient in a normalized muscle tone condition by providing a device that serves to support the limb for comfort and physical muscle tone therapy. The Spann device, however, is not directed to a person suffering from a paralyzed arm or leg such as one with a central nervous system dysfunction exhibiting spasticity. Further, the device does not provide the necessary support for proper body posture for a person confined to a sitting position.
Other examples of prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 1,879,401 to Monaco issued on Sept. 27, 1932, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,733 to Sukle issued on Sept. 20, 1971, wherein exercise devices for paralyzed limbs are described. Monaco recognized that systematic exercise of a paralyzed limb can result in the patient having increased use of the muscles of that limb and provides a means wherein the paralyzed hand and arm of a patient can be exercised by placing the patient's fingers between spaced vertical pegs and using the other hand to move the fingers up and over the peg into the next adjacent space. In the Sukle patent a therapeutic device for the paralyzed hand and arm of a stroke patient is provided having a continuous reciprocating moving belt upon which the paralyzed limb is placed for exercise.
The above noted patents represent the type of relevant exercise devices known in the art. It will be appreciated that prior to the instant invention no exercise or therapeutic device provided a means of maintaining proper body posture, comfortable support and adjustable positioning means tending to alleviate either a flaccid or spastic condition.